Page 867 – Family Council

Lottery Ticket Sales Surge Amid Pandemic

May 20, 2020Jerry CoxArkansas LotteryArkansas Lottery

According to KATV news, Arkansans have spent $17 million on state lottery tickets in the past seven weeks.

Lottery ticket sales have surged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lottery officials say the uptick in sales could be the result of lower gas prices, closure of the casinos during the pandemic, and simply boredom.

However, our office recently analyzed weekly sales from the Arkansas Lottery, and it appears that lottery ticket sales in Arkansas rose after Arkansans began receiving economic stimulus checks from the federal government.

In other words, there’s a very good possibility Arkansans have been spending their unemployment checks and federal stimulus money on lottery tickets.

Here are five points worth remembering about the Arkansas Lottery:

The Arkansas Lottery relies heavily on scratch-off tickets despite the fact that these types of tickets can feed problem gambling and gambling addiction.
The Arkansas Lottery continues to sell scratch-off tickets that cost as much as $10 or $20 a piece. People who spend $20 on these scratch-off tickets have roughly a 66% chance of losing their money.
The Arkansas Lottery spends the vast majority of its revenue on prizes — upwards of 70%, which is far more than the typical state-run lottery.
The Arkansas Lottery currently spends about 15% – 16% of its revenue on college scholarships — which is about half of what the typical state-run lottery spends.
Because the Arkansas Lottery budgets so much for prizes and so little for education, the Lottery has failed to live up to its promise to provide $100 million per year in funding for college scholarships.

The bottom line: The Arkansas Lottery preys on the poor and desperate, and it has failed time and again to live up to its promises.

Photo Credit: Powerball and Mega Millions Lottery Billboard in Missouri by Tony Webster, on Flickr.

Video: Families More Inclined to Home School

May 19, 2020Jerry CoxHome School, VideoCOVID-19, Home School, Video

A recent poll found 40% of families are more inclined to home school once the COVID-19 lock downs are over.

Watch this video to learn more.

Siloam Springs City Council To Consider Public Drinking District

May 15, 2020Jerry CoxAlcohol, Public DrinkingAlcohol, Public Drinking

City Board members in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, will consider an ordinance permitting public drinking in the city’s downtown area at their next meeting, according to news reports.

Act 812 of 2019 by Sen. Trent Garner (R – El Dorado) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R – Smackover) lets cities create “entertainment districts” where alcohol can be carried and consumed publicly on streets and sidewalks.

These districts can be permanent or temporary, under Act 812.

City officials in Siloam Springs discussed a public drinking ordinance extensively at their May 5 meeting.

The most recent draft of the ordinance would permit public drinking throughout much of downtown Siloam Springs.

City officials have indicated that the ordinance would make it easier for bars and restaurants to offer seating areas outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the ordinance itself actually is much more open-ended than that.

Under the ordinance, people would be able to purchase alcohol to-go in bars or restaurants, and then carry and consume alcohol on sidewalks downtown.

Public drinking would be allowed from 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Thursday – Saturday.

Under the current draft of the ordinance, the public drinking district would be temporary and would expire no later than September 26 unless extended by the city board.

As we have said time and again, public drinking is a scourge on the community.

It raises serious concerns about drunk driving and public safety.

Public drinking doesn’t attract new businesses or bolster the economy.

It hurts neighborhoods and families.

That’s why Family Council has put together a free toolkit to help citizens oppose these public drinking districts.

Our toolkit contains talking points, information about problems public drinking has caused in other states, photographs of public drinking districts elsewhere around the country, and other resources you can use to fight public drinking in your community.

Click here to download our free toolkit.

Photo: Brandonrush / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)